NEA wants 15 pc tariff increase

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
KATHMANDU, Aug 19

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is planning to increase the current customer tariff rate by 15 percent to cope with the hike in prices of other goods and other factors, a top NEA official said Monday.

"We need to enforce at least 15 percent increment in the current tariff rate, given the yawning gap between production cost and purchasing rate and current rate," said NEA Managing Director Arjun Karki, talking to journalists on the sidelines of NEA's anniversary function in the capital.
He, however, revealed that the existing tariff rate will not increase for those using less than 20 units of electricity per month. "The increment should be for industries, businesses and others who consume more and can afford to pay more," Karki said.

The NEA chief also said NEA is in favor of selling the power purchased from independent power producers without incurring any loss. "Timely price adjustment is the solution. It will strengthen NEA's financial capacity and help promote other projects," he said.

NEA incurred a net loss of Rs 1.3 billion in the last fiscal year alone while its accumulated loss stands at Rs 7.13 billion.

Karki also claimed NEA is in a position to solve the load-shedding problem within five years. "Altogether 525 megawatt electricity from different projects will be added to the systems within five years," he informed. Likewise, over 700 MW will be added to the systems by 2070-2071 BS, according to him.

Karki also said that with improvement in transmission system in India, it would be possible to import additional 40 MW electricity from India this year. The 70 MW Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Project is expected to complete within the next four months.
However, water level at Kulekhani hydroelectric project is significantly low this season. The water level in the reservoir at Kulekhani project is 9-10 meters lower compared to same time last year, according to Karki. Kulekhani is the only storage-type hydroelectric project in the country.

The demand for power is increasing by about 10 percent every year. However, unionists at NEA accused that irregularities, corruption, political interference, and impunity, among other factors were to blame for NEA's loss. "Buying low quality goods and preparing bills double than the actual price has become common practice," Durga Dhakal, Coordinator of Nepal National Employees Organization, NEA claimed.

"Recently Indian transformers were bought instead of promoting domestic products. But, several of the transformers exploded within 24 hours of installation," he added.

THE KATHMANDU POST